Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-07-06
VERY HARD TO LEARN.
The Painful Methods Of Teaching the
Paris Coryphess to Dance.

The Painful Methods Of Teaching tho
Paris Coryphsss to Dance.
Every day the pupil imprisons her feet
In a pair of narrow cases, in which, heel
to heel, the tortured limbs are accus-
toned to remain in a parallel position.
After half an hour In these cases another
torture is substituted. This time one
foot is placed on q bar, which Is held by
the hand opposite to the foot which Is be-
ing exercised, and both foot and hand are
changed at the word Of command. And
il must not be imagined that these hard
tests have to be undergone only for a
certain time. They have always to be
continued IL the dancer wishes to pre-
serve her elasticity. A single week Of
rest has to be paid for with several
months of double and uninterrupted
work.
The fable Of Sisyphus and his rock Is
realized by the ballet dancer. She is the
race horse which parts with its rest, its
embonpoint and its liberty for the rapid
victories in the field. NJ. 7. Second tells
in his curious "Petits MYSTERIES de
rOpera" that Mile. Taglioni, after a two
hours lesson by her father, fell fainting
on the floor of her room and remained
unconscious while she was undressed,
sponged and redressed. The lightness of
her marvellous dancing before the audi
ence was paid for with such a price.
Mile. Taglioni's example is vigorously fol-
lowed by other dancers, and there are
some who, through bodily defects, have
unusual difficulties to overcome, and who
torture themselves with a barbarous
ferocity. These daily exercises having
come to an end, all the different steps
are gone through, the professor rapidly
indicating the changes from one step to
another. And how hot the poor creatures
become! Some moan and sigh; some
gasp and cough; others can scarcely
stand on their feet. With the dancers
only the legs grow stout, sometimes, in.
deed, too much 50; but their arms, Their
shoulders, their chests are a pitiful sight.
At a dancing lesson on the stage Of the
Paris opera all the ladies are dressed in
cotton OF flannel, which leaves their arms
and shoulders bare, with garment down
to their knees and boots like the cothur'
nus. The wealthy among them have
costly fur coats; the poor have thin,
shabby shawls or waterproofs TO wraE
themselves in after the performance 4
over. On the stage two dim lights are
burning; several gentlemen stand about,
one of them carrying q baton. The or.
chestra consists OF two violins. The
maitre de ballet. beating the floor with
his baton. calls out: snow then, ladies,
silence, if you please! We begin again.
The second tableau." And assuming the
attitude which his pupils are to assume,
he shouts: Attention! The prison scene
and the prisoners step! You are chained,
you-you sacre bleu! look toward the
sky, toward the sky, l tell you! Gross
your hands and put one foot forward
Unfasten your hands. Quickly! Put
your foot back!" Not infrequently thu
baton is used for other purposes thar
merely to beat time, and the lesson goel
on amid scolding and cursing. All thu
dancers take part in it, from the very
young, the poor and the innocent, who
try to embellish themselves with a bunch
Of violets or a piece of bright ribbon and
a pair Of brass earrings, to the grand
ladies' sparkling with diamonds from be.
hind the dim scenes, like Indian idols in
the depths of the pagodas Of Juggernaut,
Boston Herald.